Maybelline Colour Elixers - Review

Hi Everyone!

I was extremely lucky to be sent a Maybelline Colour Elixer in the shade Dashing Orchid prior to their release in the UK by an American friend of mine. I have sensitive lips & can react to products even if there is nothing in the ingredients that I know I’m allergic to. I’m currently trying to pinpoint the culprit ingredient(s) & document it here for you. I digress…

L to R: Signature Scarlet, Caramel Infused, Blush Essence, Rose Redefined, Raspberry Rhapsody

Having been able to use one of the Colour Elixers prior to their release & knowing I liked them, I naturally did what I always do when I find a lip product that doesn’t cause me a problem – buy the whole lot!

Let me tell you about the six shades I have:

 L to R: Caramel Infused, Rose Redefined, Signature Scarlet

Caramel Infused 

Rose Redefined 

Signature Scarlet 

L to R: Blush Essence, Raspberry Rhapsody, Dashing Orchid

Blush Essence

Raspberry Rhapsody

Dashing Orchid

Firstly, they smell amazing! It's definitely on the sweeter side, almost warm. It's an obvious smell without being obtrusively scented.I can't put my finger on what it smells like - it's similar to MAC glosses minus the vanilla! Definitely go & smell these yourselves!

Secondly, they are extremely moisturising! If you swatch one on the back of your hand, wipe it off & compare the difference between how soft each of your hands are you’ll be amazed! I have dry lips & these are so comfortable to wear!

The shade selection is good, though the lightest shades are too light for my taste. There are 20 shades in total, though currently in the UK we have 11. Colour payoff is really good, though the colour you actually get is not that of the colour you see in the tube. The formula lasts well on the lips but seems to change the longer it's on your lips. I'm in love with these & can't wait for summer to come round again to pick up the coral shade!

The Maybelline Colour Elixers Retail for £6.99 & can be found in most stockists that carry Maybelline.

Will you be checking this range out?

Which of these shades is your favourite?

Tania Xx


Maybelline Colour Elixers Ingredients:

Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate,Trimethylsiloxyphenyl Dimethicone, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Hydrogenated Styrene/Methyl, Styrene/Indene Copolymer, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Hydrogenated Styrene/Butadiene Copolymer, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Hydrogenated, Castor Oil Isostearate, Bis-Behenyl/Isostearyl/Phytosteryl Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Cetyl Dimethicone, Silica Silylate, Pentylene Glycol, Poly C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Punica Granatum Seed Oil, Alumina, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Linalool, Silica, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Tin Oxide, Limonene, Aluminum, Hydroxide, Acrylates Copolymer, Dimethicone, Parfum / Fragrance

May Contain: Mica CI 77891 / Titanium Dioxide CI 45410 / Red 28 Lake CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 / Iron Oxides CI 15850 / Red 7 CI 45380 / Red 22 Lake CI 15985 / Yellow 6 Lake CI 19140 / Yellow 5 Lake CI 75470 / Carmine CI 42090 / Blue 1 Lake].

Creating A Blusher Using The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Palette

Hi everyone!

I’ve been debating whether to pick this beauty up for quite a while. My biggest hesitation was that I already own the full size of Dim light. I finally caved while on a trip to London, as I really love my Dim Light powder & have a theory...

Palette contains, from L to R: Dim Light, Incandescent Light (palette exclusive) + Radient Light

I’ve never been interested in the Ambient Lighting blushes, the reason being that I figured they could be re-created using a similar matte blush shade with the corresponding ambient lighting powder over the top. For example, using a matte coral shade with the Dim Light powder over would create the same effect as the Dim Infusion blush.

I then thought that, to really get my money’s worth from these beautiful, high quality but also expensive powders I could use other blusher shades with the same Ambient Lighting powder & the other way round, giving me numerous options. I haven’t tested my theory yet, so thought I’d do it as I write this post!

The Ambient Lighting Blushes are described as:

Etherial Glow - Cool pink + Etherial Light

Diffused Heat - Vibrant Poppy + Diffused Light

Dim Infusion - Subdued Coral + Dim Light

Luminous Infusion - Champagne Rose + Luminous Light

Radient Magenta - Golden Fuchsia + Radient light

Mood Exposure - Soft plum + Mood light

I don’t have anything resembling a vibrant poppy or golden fuchsia, as these are shades that just don’t suit me. I don’t have all of the Ambient Lighting Powders either. I don’t think this will be a huge deal, as I’ll still be able to show you my thought process with what I’ve got.

So, the blushes I’m going to be using are:

L-R: NYX Bourgeous Pig (dusty pink with slight blue undertones)

MAC Melba (soft coral peach)

Bobbi Brown Rose (pink rose) (discontinued)

And here are the swatches of the Ambient Lighting Powder Palette:

L to R: Dim Light, Incandescent Light, Radient Light

Now to test the theory!

L-R: NYX Bourgeous Pig

NYX Bourgeous Pig + Dim Light

NYX Bourgeous Pig + Incandescent Light

NYX Bourgeous Pig + Radient Light

L-R: MAC Melba

MAC Melba + Dim Light

MAC Melba + Incandescent Light

MAC Melba + Radient Light

L-R: Bobbi Brown Rose

Bobbi Brown Rose + Dim Light

Bobbi Brown Rose + Incandescent Light

Bobbi Brown Rose + Radient Light

If you had all 6 of the permanent Ambient Lighting Powders & the respective colours of the 6 Ambient Lighting Blushes, you would have the ability to create 720 variations available to you! For those of you interested in the maths used to work that out, it's 6!/(6-6)!=720. That's without using the blushes on their own!

So for me, purchasing the Ambient Lighting Powders & individual blusher shades it definitely a better way to invest in my makeup!

What do you think of my theory? Would you prefer to buy a ready-made blusher or ‘create your own’?

Tania Xx


Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Ingredients:
Mica, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Boron Nitride, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Silica, Octyldodecanol, Benzimidazole Diamond Amidoethyl Urea Carbamoyl Propyl Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Sorbic Acid, Polyacrylamide, Benzoic Acid, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Potassium Sorbate, Dehydroacetic Acid, Laureth-7, Ethylhexylglycerin, Trimethylsiloxysilicate. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Iron Oxide (CI 77491), Iron Oxide (CI 77492), Iron Oxide (CI 77499), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850).

#bloggersfestival 2014

Hi Everyone!

I was lucky enough to be invited to attend #bloggersfestival - an event put on by the very lovely Scarlett Dixon of scarlettlondon.com.

#bloggersfestival took place at Paramount in Central London. The venue was fantastic - we were on the 31st floor & the view was amazing! Add in the amazing brands & bloggers who attended & it made for a wonderful event! Our hostess, Scarlett, put so much effort into making it a success & it showed!

Prior to my attending the event, I emailed Scarlett regarding my particular difficulties - my Basilar Type Migraine with Aura (exacerbated by particular lighting) & my joint problems (I'm being investigated for Ehlers-Danlos/Hypermobility Syndrome). Scarlett did everything in her power to make sure I was able to participate fully & enjoy myself at #bloggersfestival & I certainly did!

I wanted to share some of our communications with you all:

T: "Would it be possible to put myself & a +1 down for attending please? I 

     have a rare medical condition & my family feel happier if I attend with 

     someone..."

S: "More than happy for you to have a +1... it's likely to to be quite busy, will
     this interfere? I just don't want you to not enjoy it and have spent money & 

     effort getting to the venue if the environment is going to trigger a flare up?"

T: "Packed & busy is ok for me, I can sometimes become a little overwhelmed... 

    This won't make me unwell & I just need to take a step back from things & 

    give myself a minute before returning. May I ask what the lighting will be 

    like? Also how much standing will be involved?"

S: "There will be seating areas, and the lighting will be mostly natural light with 

     a few spotlights on the ceiling - I've attached a picture if that helps... I will 

     make sure there are seating areas available for you just incase you you need 

     to take some time out..."

So now to the event itself...

I'd arranged via twitter to meet up with some other bloggers attending the event. I was early & my stomach was churning while wasting some time so I decided to head to the venue. I wasn't the only one who was early & I was straight away talking to some lovely girls! This was great & I'd advise anyone, shy or otherwise to either arrange to meet others before or arrive early so you can start chatting to people without being overwhelmed!

I spent most of my time going round with the lovely Cat from What Cat Says & Isabelle from Tainted Blues. These two ladies are such fun! We shared drinks, talked fashion & beauty, took lots of pics & chatted to the fab brands that attended!

The brands...

Cat, Isabelle & I started at the back of the room as most people entered & started either directly to the right or left. This way we were able to really get some 'one-on-one' time with brands.

Want Her Dress

Want Her Dress is the brainchild of Carol, who's aim is to inspire real women to feel good about their bodies & provide them with real fashion, while also giving opportunities to young designers.

Chelle - the style & confidence coach behind 'The Body Shape & Style Guide', a pocket/handbag sized guide created to allow women to identify their body shape & use the helpful hints for dressing to flatter each of these shapes.

Very

We were very lucky to be able to view items from Very's A/W'14 catalogue. I really loved the different textures, patterns & bright colours! They were very generous & gifted us a necklace along with a very (get it!?!) useful bag!

Lee Stafford

Lee Stafford had their newest range to show us, launching soon. I read the ingredients of a few of the products & they all contained either wheat or nuts, which I've found common throughout the brand. We were gifted the hairbrush below which, once again was awfully kind. I'm very interested to try this as it looks innovative with both the plastic & shorter bristles.

Oriflame

Oriflame, a Swedish brand, were one I was really looking forward to chatting to, particularly about their ingredients. They didn't have any information on hand, but these can be found on their website - something not all companies do! This is definitely a brand I'll be looking into further!

Quiz 

Quiz are a brand I like & have bought a couple of dresses from previously. They showcased some really lovely items, which we could use to put together our ideal outfit! 

Urban Outfitters

For me, Urban Outfitters are the epitome of cool! I loved taking a peek at their A/W collection with different prints, colours & textures. I was also really excited as they had brought along one of their polaroid cameras! I got to have my first ever polaroid pic taken which I loved, though I need to work on posing & finding my 'good light' Hehe!

iZ Beauty Of London

I loved the numerous & varied designs of the nail wraps at iZ Beauty of London. They had someone there to show us the designs & demonstrate. I wish I'd taken advantage of this now as I've only ever tried nail wraps once & it was a disaster! For the designs of these alone, I'd give them a try again!

ecco & Minimum

Danish sister brands ecco (accessories) & Minimum (fashion) were on hand to show us items from their A/W line. There were lots of dark colours in textured fabrics. The quality of all the products was evident by the feel of the materials. I loved the autumnal shades of the accessories & could quite easily have walked away with all of them! 

 We were very kindly gifted this lovely purse, 'cos a girl can never have too many purses! We were also given this great top - I've always had a thing for slogan tees & this one is perfect for me! I like the way it's not a plain colour, the speckled effect gives dimension. This top looks great with a checked shirt & I'm really excited to wear it!

After I'd made my way round the brands I sat & had a good 'ol natter with the very lovely Beth from Beauty In Beta, who I've been chatting to on Twitter, as well as Monica from Moth Loves and Vicky from Lots Of Love Me.

I had a fantastic time & met some wonderful brands & amazing bloggers. I'd love to be able to meet up again with all the bloggers I spent time with as I felt we really gelled!

I'd like to thank all the brands for taking the time to speak with us & show us all their products. I also want to say a very special thank you to Scarlett for organising such a brilliant event & for making sure my experience was a safe & enjoyable one!

Have you tried anything from these brands before?

Tania Xx

Outfit Of The Day - New Look

Hi Everyone!

If you've seen my most recent YouTube video, you'll know that I went to Gracie Francesca (Ugly Face Of Beauty)'s meetup on Saturday 30th August (If not, you can view it here).

I was really feeling the outfit I wore & wanted to share it with you all!

Hat - H&M, £7.99

Dress - New Look, from last season

Blazer - New Look, £24.99

Bag - Nica from TKMaxx, last season

Leggings - Select, £5 or 2 for £8

Boots - New Look, last season

Can you tell I like New Look!?! I really felt the hat added the final touch to the outfit & love that the dress gives an autumnal feel, while the blazer tides the outfit over from summer to autumn. Pastels are set to be a trend for autumn '14 which I'm really excited about! I'm looking forward to wearing this outfit (minus the hat) to work!

You'd never know I had my hip support on would you!?!

What autumn fashion trends are you looking forward to?

Tania Xx